NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Renowned defense attorney Gerald Shargel, who famously represented mobster John Gotti amongst other high-profile defendants, died Saturday at the age of 77.
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Shargel’s wife, Terry, said the cause of his death was complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
Aside from Gotti, Shargel had a long list of other Mafioso clientele which included Anthony Povenzano, Joseph Gambino and Salvatore Gravano.
“Gerry was someone who I think all of us learned a lot from in his early career. A lot of mob cases were the only cases where people went to trial and I think he honed his excellent skills, and also his work ethics,” attorney Ben Brafman told 1010 WINS. “Gerry could travel in a mob case and also in a very complicated white collar case. So he was the whole package, as you might say, as a criminal defense lawyer and he was not afraid of any case or any clients. It was really a pleasure to watch him work.”
Through the course of his work, Shragel became well acquainted with his Mafia clients, so close that he was removed from one mob figure’s case after he was accused of serving as “house counsel” to an organized crime family by prosecutors.
In 2006, Shargel received the Thurgood Marshall Award for Outstanding Criminal Law Practitioner by the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He was known for charming jurors with meticulous cross-examination, courtroom theatrics and deep knowledge of the case he was pursuing.
Along with mob bosses, Shargel also defended other white collar criminals including Amanda Bynes, convicted murderer Daniel Pelosi, Co-Founder of Murder Inc. Chris Gotti and New York State Senator Malcolm A. Smith.
Shargel, who was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, retired from his work in 2018. In addition to his wife, Shargel is survived by their daughter, Johanna Tobel, their son, David, six grandchildren, his mother, and his sister, Judy Shargel.
The funeral was held Monday at Temple Israel of the City of New York with shiva held as Shargel's home.
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